If you recall reading one of my recent Blogs work had started on a frame for a recent painting by Diane titled “Almost Summer”. In my mind, I refer to this painting as the Studebaker Girl because she had the model posed by a Studebaker. This was from a photo shoot at the Henderson Heritage Museum where I was her helper. The original design was just too heavy and more suited for a Native American type of painting. Simplification was needed and here’s the frame design I came up, somewhat reminiscent of argyle socks! It’s actually a fairly simple, geometric pattern laid out by measurements and the use of dividers.

For the first time ever I thought I’d attempt to show the layout process for this design. The challenge was figuring out the spacing and measurements but the 6/30 gouge really determined that. Let me know if that saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” helps to illustrate the process.

What gets tricky in a process like this is making the cuts a uniform depth, the difficulty is compounded by the coves and curves of the frame. Using a long bent v-tool seems to be the answer for me. Also found that starting on the outside of the diamond for each facet helped keep things consistent too. Here’s where that saying I like comes into play:”the beauty of an item made by hand are its inconsistencies”. Initially we thought that the painting would work well with a silver leaf frame rather than a gold one. We’ve learned that frame choice makes a huge difference to how the painting captures the viewer. At this point we’re still experimenting with our choices.

New Shop Look

Speaking of choices, I’ve decided to change my workshop look after all these years! In the past I always wore complete coveralls, usually Carhartt’s. I had a light weight denim pair for the summer and heavier duck material for the winter time. Wearing them would help me keep most of the sawdust from the house. It seems to be quite a bit more humid here in Phoenix compared to Las Vegas so decided to “lighten up” my wardrobe and go back to wearing a shop apron instead. This is a nice, leather one and reminds me a little bit of the one I wore teaching woodshop for all those years. That one I made myself but wasn’t up to that challenge now! So, if you’re interested in a slightly worn set of Carhartt overalls with the carpenter’s apron check out my listing on Ebay It ends sometime tomorrow afternoon (4-15-17) so if you hurry you can get in your bid!